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Archive: October, 2023
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  • October

    A critical component of the region’s navigation and flood control management, the Tuttle Creek Reservoir, located on the Big Blue River in Kansas, has lost an estimated 46 percent of its original storage capacity due to sedimentation. (Photo by USACE Ranger Keith Morlewski)

    Dwindling capacity at Tuttle Creek Reservoir calls for an urgent and innovative solution

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is no stranger to sediment build-up issues. The organization is responsible for maintaining and managing thousands of miles of inland and intracoastal waterways, channels, ports and harbors with a dredging budget of more than $1.7 billion in fiscal year 2023 alone. Presently, USACE researchers are taking on a slightly different challenge and investigating new methods to diminish the accumulation of sediment in lakes and reservoirs caused by dams.
  • Using natural and nature-based features (NNBF), which are measures and techniques that can be incorporated into shore protection, improved coastal resilience can be achieved while producing additional economic, environmental and social benefits.

    Natural features to play crucial role in building a more resilient Great Lakes coastline

    Communities along the Great Lakes coastline are experiencing increased frequency in coastal flooding and erosion, causing property damage, putting lives at risk, and disrupting local economies. With the support of the Engineering With Nature® (EWN) program, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) can provide technical direction and guidance to USACE Districts around the nation to look at innovative ways of improving coastal resilience.
  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers uses the Hydro survey vessel "Blackwater" on the water near Fort Myers, Fla. Oct. 5, 2022 to survey vessel paths of debris and sunken ships. The vessel cleared the path for all vehicles before they could enter the Fort Myers Harbor.

    Crowdsourcing bathymetry could provide near-time picture of nation’s inland waterways

    Taking advantage of vessels already on the water, an effort in the works at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) will use those vessels’ depth finders and GPS to create a snapshot of a channel and any obstructions that may exist.
  • Dr. Afrachanna Butler, a research physical scientist with ERDC's Environmental Laboratory (EL), and Kortland Almore, an EL intern from Alcorn State University, water switchgrass in one of EL’s greenhouses in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Both ERDC-EL and ERDC’s Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory are experimenting on the phytostabilization potential and biomonitoring of heavy metals, specifically selenium and arsenic that come from contaminated soil and groundwater at coal combustion residual (CCRs) storage sites.

    ERDC researchers experiment on remediation of Coal Combustion Residuals

    Researchers with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) are experimenting on the phytostabilization potential and biomonitoring of heavy metals, specifically selenium and arsenic that come from contaminated soil and groundwater at coal combustion residuals (CCRs) storage sites.
  • Twelve participants from across the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were chosen for ERDC University, a six-month detail at the Engineer Research and Development Center. ERDC University orientation was held February 28-March 1 in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Participants included, front row from left, Director Rhonda Taylor, ERDC Office of Research and Technology Transfer (ORTT); Nakita Smith, Pittsburgh District reality specialist; Michael Deegan, USACE Institute for Water Resources social scientist; Zahraa Al Khafaji, Chicago District project engineer; ERDC Deputy Director Dr. Beth Fleming; Joe Hernandez, Sacramento District economist; and Canda Lorson, New Orleans District hydrologist. Leaders and participants in back row, from left, included Director Gary Anderton, Human Capital Office; Kyle Bayliff, Sacramento District chemist; Garrett Hall, Dalles Dam, Oregon mechanical engineer; Jose Paredez, Los Angeles District civil engineer; Kyle Tidwell, Portland District fish biologist; Luke Navarro, Nashville District natural resources specialist; and ERDC University Program Manager Antisa Webb, ORTT Technology, Knowledge and Outreach Division. (Not pictured, Michael Mansfield, Kansas City District hydrologist; Ian Markovich, Jacksonville District biologist.)

    Corps of Engineers District selectees graduate from ERDC University

    Participants from nine U.S. Army Corps of Engineer Districts and the Institute for Water Resources graduated from ERDC University in September, following project presentations to the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) senior leaders.
  • The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New Orleans District started augmenting an underwater sill in the Mississippi River to slow progression of salt water upstream, October 1, 2023. USACE continues to closely monitor, survey and model conditions on the river with regards to potential impacts on both navigation and saltwater intrusion from the Gulf of Mexico. Researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center are assisting in assessment and mitigation efforts. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Ryan Labadens)

    ERDC researchers assist with saltwater intrusion efforts in southern Louisiana

    As residents of Louisiana prepare for possible disruptions in their drinking water caused by saltwater intrusion, researchers from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) are assisting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New Orleans District with assessment and mitigation efforts.